$1,400 stimulus checks still on table. Lawmakers hope to take action on proposals this week

Published 7:07 am Wednesday, February 24, 2021

The House could vote by the end of this week on a third coronavirus relief package that would send a round of $1,400 stimulus checks to millions of Americans during the pandemic.

The House Budget Committee will consider the 591-page bill, based on proposals by at least nine committees, on Monday and put together one plan for Congress. The House will then vote on the legislation, which House leaders say could happen by the end of the week. If it passes, the bill would head to the Senate the following week.

Democrats are hoping to pass the stimulus deal before March 14, the day that $300 weekly unemployment benefits approved in December’s coronavirus package expire.

The most recent stimulus bill includes $1,400 direct payments for individuals making up to $75,000 a year and married couples earning up to $150,000 a year — the same income thresholds in Biden’s $1.9 trillion emergency plan released in January. The new plan has a faster phase-out than in previous proposals, capping payments at $100,000 for individuals and $200,000 for couples.

The House bill would extend the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation programs through Aug. 29 and increase weekly federal benefits from $300 to $400.

The proposal also includes:

  • roughly $19.1 billion for state and local governments
  • expanding the child tax credit to $3,600 for children under age 6 and $3,000 for children under
  • nearly $130 billion for K-12 schools to help reopen schools
  • $15 billion for the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan program for low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration
  • $25 billion for grants for bars and restaurants
  • $14 billion for distribution, research and administration of vaccines
  • $46 billion for contact tracing, testing and mitigation